


Five steps

by bubblegumgirl



Category: Original Work
Genre: One Shot, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-13
Updated: 2014-07-13
Packaged: 2018-02-08 16:50:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1948800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubblegumgirl/pseuds/bubblegumgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five steps to the stairs, I count each one as I move unseen the house. I pause and listen; the house filled with sounds, the creaking of walls as they adjust, the whistling of the wind as it rushes past a window, the ticking of the clock on the mantel piece, each second that ticks by impossibly loud.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five steps

**Author's Note:**

> just a short little story i wrote a while back. wanted to put it out there

Five steps to the stairs, I count each one as I move unseen the house. I pause and listen; the house filled with sounds, the creaking of walls as they adjust, the whistling of the wind as it rushes past a window, the ticking of the clock on the mantel piece, each second that ticks by impossibly loud. But these are not the sounds I listen for, I listen for the sound of stairs under the weight of peoples’ feet, the gurgling of water as it fills a glass, or the shuffling of the carpet as people, not quite awake enough to care, fail to lift their feet completely from the floor. I hear none of these sounds, nor any others that tell me anyone is awake. Good. The carpet gives way easily under my feet, swallowing the sound of my footsteps. I make no noise; I have done this before, and I know how to not be heard.

I continue through the house, up the stairs, ten steps this time, and down the hallway, twenty steps long, but I only take seven. I stay hidden in the shadows cast by the walls as I move, an unnecessary caution perhaps, but now is not the time to be reckless. Anticipation runs fingers up and down my spine, tickling my nerves, and making my heart beat faster. I am almost at the door, almost at my goal. 

The door is closed when I reach it, this is an unforseen complication. Doors pose risks, they make noise, and noise is bad, unwelcome. People notice noises, noises are things that need to be investigated and explained; noises mean trouble. But I have come too far to turn back now, all that stands between me and my goal is an unlocked door, and I will not let it convince me into letting his moment pass. My hands slip slightly on the cool metal of the handle as I turn it, wincing at the soft grinding of the mechanisms, magnified by a thousand in the relative silence of the room. Thankfully the hinges remain silent as I push the door open. I feel a smile pull at my lips as I take in the sight before me. Two people lay side by side on the bed, the thick blanket making them seem nothing more than two lumps hidden under a seas of brightly coloured cotton. Their soft snores fill the room, the one on the right just a little louder than the smaller lump beside it. This, this is the moment I had been waiting for, the sole reason for my efforts. I was going to enjoy this. 

Three steps was all it took to reach the bed from where I stood, and then, I pounced.  
***  
He awoke with a start as a knee connected with his stomach, temporarily knocking the air out of him. Beside him, he heard a grunt, suggesting the same fate had befallen his wife.

“For goodness sake, Clarissa, can’t you find some other way to wake us up without jumping on us?”  
He turned to glare at his daughter, shaking his head at the all too smug grin she was sporting. This girl would never grow up, and if he was honest with himself, he was rather happy about that.


End file.
